Yurasov Leads Final Nine of Record-Setting 2014 PokerStars.net EPT Vienna High Roller
On Friday, the European Poker Tour Vienna €10,000 High Roller set a record for the largest high roller of Season 10. Day 1 originally attracted 136 players that accounted for 35 reentries, which brought the field up to 171. Late registration was open until the start of Day 2, and 10 players — five first-timers and five reentries — took advantage, which brought the total field up to 181 entries, just one more than the EPT10 Barcelona High Roller.
The massive turnout generated a prize pool of €1,773,800 which was to be distributed to the top 27 players. After 10 one-hour levels of play, the money was reached and the field whittled down to the final nine. The man best positioned to capture the €392,900 first-place prize is Russian Dmitry Yurasov, who emerged as the chip leader with 1.866 million; however, 2011 EPT London champ Benny Spindler is hot on his heels after being on top of an aces-versus-kings hand late in the evening.
Here's a look at the remaining nine (please note the seat draw will not be determined until the start of Day 3):
| Player | Count |
|---|---|
| Dmitry Yurasov | 1,866,000 |
| Benny Spindler | 1,814,000 |
| Anatoly Filatov | 1,555,000 |
| Vitaly Lunkin | 1,174,000 |
| Fabrice Soulier | 1,075,000 |
| Jonathan Duhamel | 690,000 |
| Oleh Okhotskyi | 362,000 |
| Rasmus Agerskov | 278,000 |
| Fady Kamar | 238,000 |
The day began with dozens of eliminations including Khiem Nguyen, Carl Carlsson, Team Online's Marc-Andre Ladouceur, Toby Lewis, Dimitar Danchev, Ronny Kaiser, David Vamplew, Philipp Gruissem, and Mike "Timex" McDonald.
There were just 28 players left in Level 17 (4,000/8,000/1,000), and a lot of them were short stacks clinging to life in the hopes of making it to the money. Odds were one of them would be the bubble boy, but instead it turned out to be a player who could have coasted to the money.
It happened when Viacheslav Goryachev opened for 18,000 and Jens Lakemeier three-bet him to 39,000. Action folded back around to Goryachev and he announced that he was all in for 247,000. Much to the surprise, and no doubt delight, of the rest of the table, Lakemeier snap-called. The players didn't revealed their cards until action had concluded at the other tables, and when they did Goryachev discovered the bad news.
Goryachev: A♠K♦
Lakemeier: A♥A♣
The railbirds were several deep all around the table, with many of the high rollers coming to see if they were about to earn at least a €17,750 payday. The 5♠8♥10♥ flop left Goryachev in need of running cards, which meant when the 4♠ blanked on the turn the bubble was burst. The meaningless 2♦ was put out on the river to make it official, and then Goryachev headed to the exit as the bubble boy.
From there, the in-the-money eliminations came fast and furious. Among those to hit the rail were Alexander Dovzhenko (27th - €17,750), Sam Trickett (25th - €17,750), EPT10 Prague High Roller champ Ivan Soshnikov (24th - €17,750), Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen (17th - €23,950), Simon Ravnsbaek (16th - €23,950), and Jonathan Karamlikis (15th - €26,600).
Jorgensen fell in Level 18 (5,000/10,000/1,000) when action folded to him in the small blind and he raised to 22,000. Yurasov responded with a three-bet to 49,000 from the big blind, and Jorgensen called to see a flop of 7♣6♦J♣. Jorgensen checked, and Yurasov continued for approximately 45,000. Jorgensen wasted little time in moving all in for about 240,000, and Yurasov snapped him off.
Jorgensen: 9♠8♠
Yurasov: 9♦9♥
Jorgensen flopped an open-ended straight draw, which he needed to hit in order to overcome the pocket nines of Yurasov. The K♠ turn didn't do it, and neither did the 4♠ river. Jorgensen missed and was eliminated in 17th place. That left Jonathan Duhamel as the last Team PokerStars Pro in the field.
Others who fell before the end of the night were Jonas Kronwitter (14th - €26,600), Jens Lakemeier (13th - €29,250), EPT10 London Main Event champ Robin Ylitalo (12th - €29,250), Alex Bilokur (11th - €33,700), and recent Sunday Million champ Jose Carlos Garcia (10th - €33,700).
The third and final day is set to kick off at 12 p.m. local time, and the returning nine players will play down to a winner. Likewise, the final table of the EPT10 Vienna Main Event will be playing down to a winner just across the room. Of course, the PokerNews Live Reporting team will be on hand to bring you all the action, so be sure to check back then to find out who is crowned champion here at the Hofburg Palace!
Until then, find out what various poker pros think about “hitting and running”:
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